Apocalypse
by Cat2000
Summary: Despite all of the warnings, all of the signs, humans were unprepared for the apocalypse. The demons came in great numbers to kill and enslave humans, until only a few remain free and grouped together – including Dean Winchester.
1. Demons' Rule

**Apocalypse**

**Chapter One – Demons' Rule**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Supernatural, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Any character you don't recognise from the show, I probably own. Also, the plot of this story belongs to me

**Summary:** Despite all of the warnings, all of the signs, humans were unprepared for the apocalypse. The demons came in great numbers to kill and enslave humans, until only a few remain free and grouped together – including Dean Winchester. Now, the last free humans have a quest – to find those few individuals that are angels incarnate; the few that have the ability to battle and destroy the demons on the plane of souls.  
But Dean's own personal quest is much more simple, and born of protecting the most important thing in his life.  
To rescue his brother Sam from the demons' grasp…

**Warning(s):** Violence; spoilers; some swearing; mild descriptions of torture/death; possibly some 'icky' moments; AU

* * *

Dean sat on the ground, staring blankly into space – or, well, as much as he could in the darkness. He was aware of the quiet talking going on around him, but he had no interest in making any contributions.

_I failed him. I failed Sam. My brother's gone now, and it's all my fault. I should have been better at protecting him, and now he's gone._ Dean felt his way up his chest, and closed his hand around the necklace that still hung against his shirt. Aside from the clothes on his back, it was his only possession that was worth anything. Even his guns had been rendered useless against the demons that had leaked into the human world.

And there was something wet and cold dripping down his back, causing some discomfort. _I should probably move,_ he mused. _I don't really want to catch a cold or something. If that's even possible here._

"Are you all right, mister?"

"Huh?" Dean glanced to the side, and squinted, trying to make out the features of the person who had just spoken to him. All he could really make out was long dark hair, and a tiny build – either someone who was very small, or a child. Since Dean couldn't recall seeing any really short people in the group who had fled into the cave, he assumed that it was a child.

And there was really only one child among the twenty-or-so people who had survived and been able to flee the attack. Teenagers didn't really count.

Her calm reaction to everything had been a little disconcerting – especially since, as far as Dean could tell, her parents had been killed. Or maybe captured – he wasn't sure which. To be honest, he was more concerned with what had happened to Sam rather than other people's families.

"I'm fine," Dean said shortly, turning away and staring at where he thought the nearest wall was once more. He hoped that the girl would get the hint and leave him alone.

She didn't.

"What do _you_ think we should do?"

Dean gritted his teeth, and was about to tell the girl to stop bothering him, when he realised that she wasn't the only one waiting for an answer. He could feel the eyes of at least twenty people on him. As his own eyes got used to the dimness, he could see that some people looked scared, and others angry. A few just seemed to be completely hopeless – a feeling that Dean could certainly identify with. But he didn't want the people to be looking to him to make a decision.

Not after what had happened.

"What can _he_ know?" a tall, red-haired man demanded, almost as though he could tell what Dean was thinking. His face – which was smudged with dirt – was harsh and cold. "All he's been doing is sitting there staring into space!"

Dean scowled. "I'm sure I'd know a lot more than _you_ would," he replied, his tone sharper than he had intended. But one thing he really hated was a person who just assumed that he didn't know anything. "In fact, I probably know way more than _any_ of you do about these… creatures, since I was one of the people hunting them…!" So much for just staying out of the whole situation.

"But then why didn't most of us know about this? Why didn't you hunters _tell_ us what was going on?" The speaker this time was a middle-aged woman with dark hair pulled into what was probably supposed to be a severe-looking bun. Since strands of hair were escaping to give her an untidy appearance, the effect was kind of lost.

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Come on… Can you _honestly_ tell me that you – _any_ of you – would have believed someone who told you that demons existed? Even when there's the evidence in front of your eyes, humans generally refuse to believe that the supernatural might just be real."

"Maybe we're really all insane…" a blonde-haired teenager commented, gulping slightly. Her eyes seemed a little too wide and appeared rather wild – but at least she was talking. It was more worrying if someone stayed quiet and kept in the background.

_Yeah… Wouldn't _that_ be good?_ Dean thought. _To wake up in a padded room with a nice doctor telling you yet again that demons, vamps, ghosts, and so on don't exist; could _never_ exist._ "You wish," he said out loud. "That would be the _easy_ option. And if you start believing _that_, then you're going to end up losing your mind." He looked around, making sure to meet the eyes of every person even in the gloom.

Not one could hold his gaze.

"So what do you suggest we do? Fight?"

Dean considered that for a moment, and then slowly shook his head. "I see hardly anyone who would be able to stand up against even a weak demon," he said bluntly. Harsh it might be – but it was the truth. And that was more important.

"But we can't just sit around here doing nothing," a young man said, whimpering slightly. "They'll kill us – just like all of those others…"

"A defeatist attitude is _not_ going to help matters any." As he said it, Dean realised that he was beginning to take responsibility for these people. They were looking to him for guidance… and he was responding automatically. It wasn't that he _wanted_ to – just that there seemed to be no one else willing to.

"So what _will_ help?" the red-haired man demanded.

_He's gonna cause problems,_ Dean thought. _But maybe he'll be the only one…_ Most of the others looked scared or angry – but Dean felt that they would probably follow his direction. "Well, first of all, we're not gonna do anything to draw attention to ourselves. Maybe we're the only humans free, maybe not – either way, if we're fighting amongst ourselves, all it's gonna do is enable the demons to find us quicker. Now… We're all going to play nice together, starting with introducing ourselves. I'm Dean Winchester."

"My name's Iona," the little girl – who was staying a little too close to Dean – said.

"Jake," the belligerent red-haired man said shortly.

"I'm Abby," the blonde-haired teenager said timidly, looking at Dean with eyes that still seemed too wide.

"Isabelle," the severe-looking woman said, glancing around as if daring anyone to contest that.

"I'm called Malcolm." The man who had mentioned about the demons killing everyone spoke up.

The other people all said their names as well – some murmuring them quietly; others speaking them as if their name was the only thing left to them. Dean knew that he wouldn't remember everyone's name – at least not to begin with – but the important thing was that he had got most of the people talking, even if saying just one thing. He figured that that was probably the best thing.

"Good," Dean said. "Now… The demons haven't found this intersection of caves yet, but we really need to assume that they may eventually. So I'm going to ask this – is there anyone here with the ability to use magic? Even the most minor spells might help."

"What, so witches exist as well?!" Jake demanded.

Dean stared him down, knowing that he was going to have to deal with the man's apparent hostility sooner or later. That attitude was going to cause some serious problems. He almost brought it up then and there – but was stopped by a movement out of the corner of his eye.

Abby had one pale hand raised.

"_You're_ a witch?" He shouldn't have been surprised – really, he shouldn't have been. Dean knew – probably better than almost anyone – that the supernatural came in any shape or form.

But still…

Abby blushed. "I'm a Wiccan, actually," she admitted. "I can't do much, though… Protection spells are about my limit, and not particularly strong ones, either." As she spoke, the people closest to her were beginning to edge away slightly, looking almost fearful.

Dean couldn't blame them. The idea of witches still made his flesh crawl – even if it was a Wiccan rather than a witch. But one was needed right now… "A protection spell would be fine," he replied. "In fact, that's what I'm looking for. Can you shield off these caves?" _We need a base, somewhere safe to stay… If that's even possible._

Abby glanced around, biting her lip slightly. "Well… I would really need quite a bit of energy, and also a _lot_ of concentration, to be able to shield an area this size."

"Don't Wiccans draw power from the Earth or something similar?" Isabelle asked, watching Abby with something that looked like scared fascination. "How hard can it be?"

"Wicca isn't like witchcraft," Abby answered. "There are… rituals that need to be observed. I don't know if I can remember all of them."

"Could you try?" Dean requested. "I'm sure that no one here particularly wants the demons to come. I imagine being captured or killed won't be fun." Again, he was being harsh – but this was reality, and he wasn't about to sugar-coat it. "Oh, and take someone with you if you need to go off a little way," he continued. "That's one rule that we should all follow here – _no one_ should wander off on their own. If you're leaving this main cave, take at least one other person with you."

Abby nodded, and glanced around. She was quickly joined by a white-haired, delicate-looking woman who had introduced herself as Lyra.

Dean frowned. _Ok, maybe I should change that order to include someone who actually looks as though they can defend themselves,_ he thought. Before he could say that, though, Malcolm joined the two women. _Huh… That's surprising. I would have thought that he'd want to stay where the majority of people are, from what he said._

"Any other rules?" Jake raised his eyebrows, his arms crossed over his chest.

"You mean besides the obvious?" Dean considered that a moment. "We're gonna need to leave the caves in order to get food… Anyone here with experience in hunting or foraging for edible plants?" _Hunting won't be much use without weapons; unless a slingshot or something is used. I can't remember what kind of creatures and plants can survive in caves…_

"I know about most plants, and something about caves," Isabelle said. "I can probably find some things that are harmless to eat." She glanced around. "We're going to need to ration food, though. With the demons having taken over, it's going to be hard to continually leave in order to forage." She looked around. "I can go now, if you like…"

"It's probably a good idea," Dean agreed. "If possible, we also need to find a water source – as close to the caves as possible. If there's an underground stream, that'll be even better." It really was amazing how people automatically shut up and listened to the one person who seemed to know what was going on. "Don't take any chances," Dean continued. "If you hear _anything_ approaching, come back to this main cave immediately. If you see something that looks anything like a demon, run like hell – you won't get a chance to do anything else." _Even running may not help…_ But he had the sense not to say that out loud.

"I'll go with you," one of the other men said gruffly to Isabelle. He was tall and large – more muscular than fat, though – with the appearance of a marine. His name was Adam, if Dean recalled right.

The two headed off, pausing for just a moment as Dean called after them, "Make sure that at least one of you pays attention to the way you're going." Really, he'd prefer it if no one left the group at all – but they weren't going to survive long without food or water.

Iona sat quietly on the ground at Dean's feet, not saying anything. Dean was relieved to have her eyes off him, since the child was making him feel uncomfortable. _And just what happened to her parents, huh? How come she was able to come here? She can't be more than ten years old, after all._ Plus, Iona was the one who had drawn attention to him and pretty much set him up as some kind of leader.

Really, Dean was merely someone who knew slightly more about what was going on than the average person – and even that wasn't a whole lot.

Jake frowned slightly at Dean, not looking too happy with the way he was taking charge. "Are there any other orders you wish to give us?"

_Whoa, easy on the sarcasm there._ "Not right now," Dean answered. "Aside from the obvious ones involving common sense – which you should already know. But just while we're talking – does anyone else have any specific skills? You know, like anything that might possibly be useful, even if seems silly."

"I'm a doctor," Jake said with obvious reluctance.

Dean bit his lip against speaking the response that immediately sprung to his mind. _Arguing among ourselves is just gonna cause problems, which is one of the last things we need. I don't care if Jake wants to take charge or whatever. Fact is, I'm sure he doesn't know half of the stuff I do._ "Any surgical experience, or just… you know?"

"Some," Jake answered. "If I have a needle and a thread and a way of sterilisation, I could probably stitch up most wounds."

Dean gave a single nod. _That could be really useful,_ he thought. He took a glance around. "Anyone else got anything?"

There was silence. Dean couldn't tell whether it was because no one else felt that they could be useful, or they were too scared to speak up. "Well, never mind…" he said. "If anyone comes up with anything, let me know." He glanced down at Iona, who just looked up at him, her expression no less disconcerting. "Anyone have any experience with taking care of children?" He didn't really want to have to be a babysitter.

"I can look after her." An older woman moved forward, and crouched down in front of Iona. She held her arms out to the little girl. "Why don't you come over here with me, sweetie?"

Iona hesitated, watching the woman. Then, she moved – barely perceptibly – back towards Dean. "I wanna stay here."

Dean put a hand up to rub at the back of his neck, and sighed. _Great… I want my brother. Where the _hell_ is he?!_

Dean couldn't very well go looking for Sam, though. Not right then, anyway. But he was certainly going to find his brother before those demons did anything to him. Dean didn't care what it took.

* * *

"This is really gross," Lyra commented as she, Abby, and Malcolm left the main cave. "I mean… I wouldn't want to have to _stay_ here for any length of time. How would we even survive?"

"I guess we don't have a choice," Abby answered, running a hand along the wall of the cave passage. There was something soft that almost clung to her fingers – a type of moss, probably. With a shudder, she pulled her hand away. "We could probably survive…" But what kind of life would it be?

"What do you think happened to all of those people?" Malcolm asked, interrupting the two girls. "I mean… Surely they can't _all_ have died?"

"What else do you think would have happened to them?" Lyra inquired. "Demons aren't like people, I guess. Maybe they've taken _some_ prisoners; but likely just for feeding." As Abby stared at her, she shrugged. "Sorry… But it's the truth. There's no point in sugar-coating it."

"Who'd have thought there were so many demons in existence?" Abby mumbled. After a few minutes, she paused, and placed a hand against the wall of the cave. Then, she gasped and pulled her hand back, feeling like she'd been burned.

"What's wrong?" Malcolm demanded.

Abby stared at her hand for a moment. "I… I don't know," she replied. "My hand… There's something wrong here."

"What do you mean?" Lyra – in stark contrast to Malcolm – looked surprised and curious. "Can you sense past events that happened here or something?"

Abby held up a hand, her head tilted to one side. Something was whispering inside her mind, and she strained to hear; to understand.

_Find the angels incarnate…_

_What?_ Abby shook her head slightly. _This is… weird._

Lyra and Malcolm were staring at Abby, both looking rather worried. Their expressions were not unlike those of a person who's just found out they've met someone mentally insane.

Abby shook her head to clear it, and pushed away the thoughts of shielding the caves from view. There were a whole myriad of images swirling around inside her mind, and it was difficult to make sense out of any of them.

But there was one thought that was at the front of Abby's mind, and she gave voice to it:

"We have to talk to Dean."

* * *

Sam opened his eyes, and winced at the pain that knifed through his head. He tried to lift his hand to rub at his forehead, but his arms wouldn't move further than a certain point.

_Where am I…?_ Sam glanced around, but couldn't make out much because of the dim lighting. He could smell fried food, though. His head felt musty, and he wanted his brother – just like a kid who'd had a nightmare. "Dean?" It was whispered. Given just how dry his mouth was, Sam couldn't speak any louder.

_If Dean were here, he'd come when I called him…_

Sam touched his lips with his tongue, trying to moisten them. _What happened? What's the last thing that I remember?_ Even as he thought, he heard the sound of someone sobbing quietly. He squinted. "Who's there?"

The sobbing continued, but Sam heard words mixed in with the noise: "Please… Don't hurt me…"

As Sam's eyes got used to the dark, he became aware of a young woman curled up on the floor not far from him. He also had the iron taste of blood in his mouth. _What happened? Someone's hurt?_ "Are you all right…?"

"Stay away from me!" Sam heard the sound of the woman scrabbling away. There was obvious fear in her voice.

"Hey, it's all right…" Sam said softly. "I'm not gonna hurt you. Come here." He kept his voice soft, as though he were talking to a small child. At the same time, he was working at getting his hands free of the bonds.

There was a long silence. Then, the woman whispered, "Is he gone…?"

_Is _who_ gone?_ Sam wondered. "There's no one else here," he answered. "Please come over here. We need to work on a way to get out of here."

The woman hesitated for a long moment. Then, she slowly started crawling towards Sam, seemingly dragging one of her legs behind her. She paused as she got right in front of him. "What… do we do?" she whispered, staring at Sam with eyes that were unusually bright.

"Well… We need to figure out who has us here…" Sam replied, even as he dropped the ropes to the ground and raised his hands, reaching out to lightly touch the bleeding gash on the woman's cheek.

And then, he snapped her neck.


	2. Secrets and Lies

**Apocalypse**

**Chapter Two: Secrets and Lies**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Supernatural, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Any character you don't recognise from the show, I probably own. The plot of this story also belongs to me, I suppose. Anything you recognise from another fandom, I don't own

**Warning(s):** Strong descriptions of violence/death; some swearing; spoilers for the entirety of Season one and probably a lot of season two; mentions of cannibalism; AU

**Author's Note:** Thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed this fic. If you've provided a way of contact on a review, then I will have responded to it to thank you personally.

Sorry for taking so long with this!

* * *

Sam stared at the broken body of the woman in front of him, his eyes wide as he raised a trembling hand to her wrist, feeling for a pulse that he knew wasn't there. Her neck was at an unnatural angle, and her open eyes stared at him accusingly. It was hard to believe that only a moment ago, the body had been a living, breathing human woman.

I_ did this?_

Sam began to shake, pulling his hand back from the woman. He'd seen more than his fair share of dead bodies, but not one belonging to a human he'd killed himself.

And especially not someone he'd killed for no reason.

He shrank back against the wall behind him. _Dean…_ Right now, more than anything, Sam wanted his brother. He'd give anything just to see his brother again or even just to hear his voice.

_I can't panic,_ Sam thought. _I have to figure out just what's going on here – and why I killed that woman…_ He was unable to help his eyes from going again to the woman's body, and a low, whining growl escaped his throat.

Horrified, Sam raised his hand to clap it over his mouth. _What's happening to me?_ A part of his mind wasn't seeing the dead body as human anymore.

It was beginning to look like meat.

Sam began shuddering violently. Despite the fact that he abhorred cannibalism, there was the temptation to just sink his teeth into the dead flesh. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to close out the image.

_Did I become a vampire or a werewolf or something similar?_

As much as he tried to force himself to think of something else, Sam could hardly help it. His skin crawled, and there was an itch on his shoulder that felt like it was almost under the skin.

Like something was trying to escape.

Still keeping his eyes closed, Sam carefully removed his shirt. He turned his back on the woman's body, and opened his eyes again, probing gently at his shoulder. He let out a slight gasp as a jolt of pain went through him, and, for a moment, his vision darkened.

_Shit… That hurts._ Sam squinted at his shoulder in the gloom, trying to make out just what was wrong with him.

From what Sam could see, there was a wound in his shoulder. More gentle probing revealed that the wound wasn't bleeding – but even the lightest touch caused him pain. _Did I get bitten by something?_ He was finding it more and more difficult to concentrate. Strange thoughts were entering his mind, and his whole body was shuddering again. He felt almost feverish, and just wanted to lie down in a nice warm bed somewhere.

_What's happening to me?_

Sam then heard something click from a short distance behind him. He slowly forced himself to turn round, automatically raising his eyes so that, rather than looking at the body of the woman, he was actually looking _above_ her.

There was a glowing figure standing at the opposite wall.

Sam squinted in the gloom. _Is my eyesight going bad…?_ he wondered. _Or maybe it's the fever?_ Of course, there was always the other possibility.

That his powers were beginning to enable him to see auras.

The figure slowly approached Sam. As it did, the glow grew more pronounced, seeming to almost seep into Sam's own skin. The sickness he was feeling just grew even worse, and he tried to fight down bile.

The figure slowly crouched down beside the woman's body, and looked it over for a moment. Then, it lifted its luminous blue-green face to look at Sam.

Sam tried to flinch back from the too-bright eyes, but he felt almost frozen where he was. Somewhere far off, he heard the sound of screaming, and he couldn't help shuddering. The pain was lessening now – but he was getting colder…

Finally, the demon spoke. "I would have thought you'd given in by now," it whispered. "The others all have."

"Others?" Sam managed to croak out. "What have you done to me?"

The demon's fangs flashed in what was probably supposed to be a smile but looked more like a snarl. "Set you free," it replied. It leaned forward slightly, lifting a curved talon to lightly stroke Sam's cheek. "It won't be long now…" the demon crooned. "Don't fight it – it'll only make things worse."

Mustering up all his energy, Sam spat in the demon's face. The creature let out a growl, and slapped Sam hard across the face, sharp nails drawing blood.

* * *

"Where are your parents?" Dean asked Iona. The child seemed to have no intention of leaving him alone, despite Dean's efforts to get one of the other people to take care of her. Finally, he had decided to try and find out just what had happened to her.

And just why she seemed to be so attached to him.

Iona shrugged, blinking a few times as a couple of strands of hair slipped into her eyes. She raised a hand to push them out of the way, and squinted a little at Dean. "The demons took them," she answered.

Dean frowned at the child. _She's taking all of this way too calmly,_ he thought. _Even the adults here are freaked out by all of this. Hell, I'm _used_ to all of this, and nothing could have prepared me for _this "How old are you anyway?"

"It was my tenth birthday last week," Iona replied. She looked around at the other people, and then back at Dean. "How old are _you_?"

"Twenty-nine." Dean allowed his eyes to rest on each of the other people inside the cave. He was fully aware that not one of the people had the ability to fight demons. _As far as armies go, this is probably the worst._

The only thing that Dean was really concerned with was finding his brother, though. Surviving came second. Along with that was taking care of the others – since they'd apparently set him up as the leader.

Dean shifted a little, and glanced up at the ceiling, frowning as another drop of water hit him directly on the forehead. "Couldn't we have found a drier place to shelter in?" he muttered. He slid off the rock and sat on the ground just in front of it. _We're going to need weapons…_ he thought. _Trouble is, where the weapons are, that's where the demons will be. And I can't send any of the others out searching – none of them would survive for long against the demons._ And he couldn't very well leave them…

_Guess we're pretty screwed…_

"Got any bright ideas, oh great leader?" Jake asked.

Dean managed to suppress a sigh. He stood up so that he was more or less on eye level with Jake. "Trying to figure out a way of keeping you all alive. But hey – you got a better idea? I'd like to hear it." He would much prefer someone _else_ to take control of the group, and then he would be free to find his brother.

_But there's no point in hoping for something that won't happen…_

Jake narrowed his eyes a little, glancing at Iona, and then looked at Dean. "Actually, I thought you'd like to know that I found someone who can work with wood and other materials," he said. "It sounds like he could help you quite a lot. His name's Jason. There's another with a black belt in a form of self-defence," he continued. "I'm not sure if that would be of any use to you – but I thought you should know."

_Great,_ Dean thought. _We can use wooden swords against the demons and have the _other_ person go into hand-to-hand combat with them._ "You'd better bring them over here," he replied. "I'll need to talk to both of them. And probably to you as well," he added.

"Do I _look_ like your servant?" Jake asked, not looking pleased. Despite that, though, he turned round, and walked over to some of the other people.

Dean let out his breath in a soft sigh, and then turned to Iona. "It's time for the grown-ups to talk," he told her. "You should go over with some of the others." He didn't really want to talk about violence in front of a ten-year-old.

Iona glanced up at Dean, saying nothing, and made no move to get up to walk over to any of the others. She did glance in the direction that Adam, Isabelle, Abby, Malcolm, and Lyra had gone.

Dean followed the line of the kid's gaze, and saw Isabelle and Adam coming back into the main cave. Adam had removed his jacket, and was holding it bundled up slightly in front of him. Isabelle seemed to be carrying some items as well. Both headed over to Dean and Iona, and as they got closer, Dean could see that Adam was carrying what appeared to be fish in very pale colour.

"I take it you found some food," Dean commented, giving a slight smile. Then, he frowned. "How'd you kill them?"

"Penknife," Adam explained. "Now I know that some people like raw fish – but that's probably not many of us here. So we're gonna need some way of cooking it. We also found some edible plants – well, Isabelle did, at least." He gestured towards the woman, who had a bunch of plants in her arms.

"We managed to find a couple of sources of water," Isabelle put in. "Unfortunately, though, we're going to need to find some way of storing it – we didn't have any containers on us. _You_ wouldn't happen to have anything, would you?"

"What about that person who Jake said can work with wood?" Iona asked, before Dean could make any kind of response. "Maybe _he_ could make something…?" Then, she blinked. "Oh… There's a problem."

"What is it?" Dean asked.

Iona didn't answer, but glanced off towards the area where Adam and Isabelle had come through again.

Dean looked in that direction as well, and narrowed his eyes slightly as he saw Abby, Lyra, and Malcolm walking back into the main cave. Abby was moving slightly faster than the other two – almost at a run – and she reached Dean and the others quite quickly. "We need to talk," she stated.

Dean watched her closely. "Did you manage to shield the caves?" he asked. _If not, I want to know why._

"Um… No," Abby admitted. She glanced at Malcolm and Lyra – as if for help – and then back at Dean. "I found out something that I felt I needed to come and tell you before I continued with trying to shield."

Dean crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared Abby down. "So what's more important?"

Abby hesitated, then admitted, "Look, you've gotta understand – I've never really had visions or anything like that before. I'm not saying that I don't believe in that, just that it's never happened to me before…"

Dean raised his eyebrows. "What's your point?" He glanced at Malcolm and Lyra, who had just paused on either side of Abby.

"We'll just go and try to sort out this food," Isabelle said, indicating her and Adam. "Just let us know if you need us again."

Dean nodded and waved a hand dismissively as he waited for Abby to answer his question. He didn't watch the two adults as they walked away.

Abby squirmed a little, shifting slightly from foot to foot. "Um…" She bit her lip slightly, and laced her hands behind her back. "Look… I know it sounds crazy, all right? But it's like the walls were almost… _talking_ to me. Or showing me pictures, at least. From what I could make out, these caves used to be home to one of the prehistoric tribes."

"Let me guess," Dean said, sighing a little. "One of the ghosts is still around, and wants us out of here – or else." _Should have thought of that, really… This is the time that I start wishing I had a gun filled with rock salt._

Abby was shaking her head, though. "No… That's not quite it," she answered. "I don't know if there _are_ ghosts around – but I was shown these… people. I'm not sure they were humans, though. I mean, they _looked_ like humans… But they had these strange marks on their bodies… and energies which even I could sense…"

Dean shook his head, feeling rather confused. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "People doing what? Does this have anything to do with the demons?"

Abby nodded quickly. "Yes… You see, these people are supposed to be the only ones with enough power to fight the demons."


	3. Marks of Angels

**Apocalypse**

**Chapter Three: Marks of Angels**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Supernatural, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Any character you don't recognise from the show, I probably own. Anything you recognise from another fandom, I don't own

**Warning(s):** Strong violence; some swearing; spoilers for the entirety of season one and much of season two of Supernatural; character hurt

**Author's Note:** Thank you so much for all of the reviews I've been getting for this fic so far . Each one really means a lot to me, and a good review can leave me feeling better for most of the day.

Enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Dean frowned, and raised his eyebrows. "They're the only ones with enough power to fight the demons," he repeated. "Pardon me for saying this – but I think that's extremely unlikely. Where's your proof?"

Abby blinked. "You think I'm making this up?"

"He's not sure _what_ to believe," Iona stated before Dean could make any kind of response. "He thinks he has to save his brother on his own, and that he's the only one who can understand all of this."

Dean frowned, immediately turning to the girl. "What are you talking about?" he demanded, immediately suspicious. _It sounds like she's been reading my mind…_ Dean stared hard at Iona. "Who are you, really?"

"Is he feeling all right?" Malcolm asked Lyra.

Lyra frowned. "Why are you asking _me_ that? It's not like I'm a mind reader or anything."

"Well?" Dean ignored Malcolm, Lyra, and Abby, keeping his full attention on Iona. _If she can read my mind, there's only one possibility that I can come up with – that she's one of those children like Sam. If that's the case, then her mom would have been burned alive while pinned to the ceiling…_

Iona shrugged, and glanced down a moment. "Sometimes, I can hear what people are thinking," she admitted. "Most of the time, I have to try really hard, though… But you were shouting."

Dean glanced at Abby, who was staying quiet, and then at Iona again. "Did something happen to your mom when you were a baby?" he asked.

Iona blinked, and then narrowed her eyes slightly. "How did you know that?" she asked.

Dean didn't say anything out loud – mainly because he didn't know how much he could trust Abby, Lyra, and Malcolm. There was another reason, but one that he wouldn't admit even to himself. Instead, Dean concentrated briefly on a mental image – partly because he wanted to test just how far Iona's abilities went.

The child frowned, and then lowered her head slightly. "Oh… I'm sorry," she said softly. "I thought I was the only one."

"So did we," Dean replied, violently pushing down the pain that tried to overwhelm him. "Don't blame yourself, all right? The thing that did this is to blame – not you or any of the other people like you."

Iona nodded slowly, but didn't say anything. She looked grave, but there was nothing about her expression to suggest that she was feeling sad or guilty.

Dean turned back to Abby, and released his breath in a slight sigh. Then, he frowned as something occurred to him, and turned back to Iona. "Can you check if Abby's telling the truth or not?" he requested.

Abby gave a frown. "That's not really fair," she protested. "I'm telling the truth!"

Iona glanced at Abby, and then closed her eyes for a moment. Finally, she opened them again, and said, "She _believes_ she's telling the truth."

Dean nodded, and looked at the young woman again. "Can you tell me anything else that you found out?" he requested.

Abby's attention wasn't on Dean any longer, though. She was watching Iona with a look of wonder in her eyes. "I didn't even feel you doing anything to me," she commented. "You know… if you need any help with how to train those abilities, I'm happy to tell you everything I know."

Lyra cleared her throat, while Malcolm simply looked like he'd rather be anywhere else than there.

Dean sighed, and crossed his arms. "Abby," he said, making a mental note to find out what her full name was – just so that he could use it to get her attention.

"Sorry." Abby looked at Dean once more. "What did you say?"

Dean watched the young woman closely. "I want you to tell me more," he answered. "If you haven't been deceived in some way, then these people – whoever they are – would be our last hope." He still wasn't really sure he believed in the people with the power to beat the demons – but he was hardly going to risk turning down any kind of advantage.

"I can't explain just _how_ I found this out," Abby admitted after a moment. "It was really strange… It was kind of like the _spirit_ of this cave forced its way into my mind to tell me these things. And the only thing really clear to me was that these people each have some kind of mark."

"Whereabouts and what does it look like?" Dean asked.

"I think it's kind of like a birthmark, and not one that's likely to be noticed," Abby replied. "About all I can make out right now is that it's different for men and women – but both have the mark on their left inner thigh."

Dean sighed heavily. "You can't be of any more help?" he questioned. "A face – or even just a name – would be really helpful. I'm not gonna go around asking everyone to let me see if they have a mark on their thigh. A little more help, please."

Abby shrugged. "I can only tell you what I know," she replied. "And that's not a whole lot, I'm afraid. And you could just ask if someone has a strange mark anywhere on their body – you don't have to specifically mention _where_."

Unable to help himself, Dean's mind flashed on a brief thought. He tried to push it away, but a quick glance at Iona revealed that the child had apparently heard it anyway. As Dean watched her, the child blushed, and averted her eyes, fiddling with one of the rocks on the ground in front of her.

Malcolm had already backed away by this time. Lyra, on the other hand, had been watching the goings-on with some interest. As Iona looked embarrassed, the young woman glanced at Dean. "What did you do to her?"

Dean frowned at Lyra. "What makes you think I did something to her?" he demanded. "It's not _my_ fault that we have a bloody mind-reader here!"

"Uh… Do you think you could watch the language around the child?" Abby requested. "I don't think her dad would be too happy if – once they're reunited – Iona starts repeating all sorts of swear words."

"It's not like he said a _really_ bad word," Malcolm commented, from where he stood at a safe distance.

Dean bit his lip against the response that immediately sprang to mind, but couldn't help thinking, _She'll be lucky if her dad's even still alive…_ If Iona heard that, though, she gave no sign.

"That's going to be _really_ annoying, having a mind-reader around." Lyra looked at Iona. "No offence, kid… But with you around, not much is gonna be private. Maybe if you could control it better…" She noticed the way that Abby and Dean were staring at her, and shrugged. "What? Sorry, but it's the truth."

_She is right,_ Dean thought. _But I think it was a little harsh of her to actually _say_ that._ He looked at Iona. "It's all right," he said. "But it would be really great if you and Abby could work on some way of shielding off the thoughts of other people, all right?"

Iona stared at Dean for a moment. Then, she glanced away, staring at the other people, which included Adam, Isabelle, and Jake. The three were talking to a man who Dean assumed was one of the people Jake had told him about.

Dean abruptly frowned as something occurred to him, and looked closely at the girl, suddenly feeling rather suspicious. _She said that the demons took her parents… But her mom was killed in a fire…_

"My dad got married again." Iona spoke without looking at Dean. "I see her as my mom cause I don't remember my real mom."

_That makes sense…_ Dean looked at Abby. "We're gonna need to get these caves shielded," he told her. "Once you finish that off, I want you to work on Iona's powers with her. Right now, we need to avoid letting anyone else know about the kid." He made sure to include Lyra and Malcolm in that statement. _I don't think it'll take much to cause a panic, and knowing that there's a mind-reader around could do that, which is the last thing we need right now._ After all, he himself was feeling somewhat uncomfortable around Iona, and he should be used to people with strange powers because of Sam.

_Sammy…_ Dean felt an overwhelming pain as he thought of his brother. His heart seemed to squeeze in his chest, and for a moment, he felt like he couldn't breathe. His strongest desire was to rescue his brother from the demons.

Knowing that waiting – at least for now – was the right thing to do didn't make it any easier…

"I'll go with you while you're shielding," Malcolm said to Abby as he directed an obviously nervous glance at Iona. "You can let me know if there's anything I can do to help you out with."

Abby glanced at Lyra, looking almost as if she'd prefer the woman to come with her. She didn't complain, though, and headed towards the gap she'd already come through.

Dean turned to Lyra as he stood next to Iona. "So… is there anything in particular you have experience in?" he asked her.

Lyra shrugged. "I haven't had any experience in martial arts or shooting or anything like that," she answered. "I can do just about anything with a needle and thread, though – and I can also cook."

_I guess we need to have people able to do practical things as well as be fighters,_ Dean thought. _I need to organise everyone together… As it is, we won't be able to do much if we're this disorganised with some people not able to defend themselves._ "I'd like you to go and see Jake, and talk to him about seeing the person experienced in self-defence. You and the other people around are gonna have to learn how to defend yourselves."

"Ok…" Lyra said slowly. "Do you want me to take care of Iona?"

Dean shook his head. "I'd prefer to keep her with me," he replied. "There are some things I need to ask her." Once Lyra had walked off towards the main group, Dean turned his attention back to Iona. "So… When did your powers start up?" he questioned.

* * *

Sam winced, rubbing at his forehead slightly. He had a really bad headache, and his mouth felt quite dry – he was really thirsty. He swallowed hard, and squinted, feeling somewhat dizzy and like he was close to being sick.

The demon was gone, and Sam had been tied up again. The blood on his cheek had dried, and he knew that infection was a distinct possibility – but he had no way of cleaning the scratches. Not only was he tied up again, but there didn't seem to be any water source around.

Sam squeezed his eyes shut. He felt like there were ice-cold fingers probing at the inside of his mind. _The demons haven't killed me yet… Why? What could they possibly want with me?_ Unless it was simply for revenge because of how many demons he and Dean had fought and killed…

_I have to assume that Dean's still alive… Not that I've seen anyone else around, of course. Apart from that woman…_ At least the body was now gone. The scent of blood had been really tempting while she'd been there.

But Sam still didn't know what was happening to him…

Sam attempted again to pull himself free of his bonds. This time though, they had been tied too tight, and all he succeeded in doing was hurting his wrists.

Abruptly, a sharp pain lanced through Sam's forehead, and he couldn't help gasping a bit as his surroundings blurred around him, briefly becoming a completely different place to where he was currently being held.

_It appeared to have once been a town, but now it was in ruins. Silent figures moved around, and there was the sound of someone sobbing and pleading for their life. Closer to where he was, though, was the sound of snarling that seemed to come from some kind of animal. As his vision sharpened, Sam could see that it was a creature that looked similar to a wolf, only with huge talons and sharp fangs._

_Sam recoiled automatically, but then realised that the creature wasn't looking at him. Its attention was on someone behind him, and Sam turned to see a blonde woman huddled on the ground, her arms covering her head. Before he could do anything, though, he felt something soft brush against his side as the creature leaped at the woman._

_The woman's arms didn't offer much in the way of protection, and Sam could only watch helplessly as the animal tore her throat out._

Sam gasped a few times as his surroundings returned to the building he was inside, and he slumped slightly, closing his eyes for a moment. _Ow…_ His head was pounding, and he felt like he would really want some aspirin, at least.

Finally, Sam raised his head. Then, he stared at the corner opposite him, partly surprised by the fact that he didn't have too many difficulties seeing in the dark, but mostly surprised by who was standing there.

"Dad?"


	4. Trials of Fire

**Apocalypse**

**Chapter Four – Trials of Fire**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from Supernatural, and I'm not making any money from this fic. The plot of this story belongs to me, I guess. Any character you don't recognise from the show, I probably own. Anything you recognise from another fandom, I don't own

**Warning(s):** Strong violence; swearing; spoilers for the entirety of season one and much of season two; character hurt

**Author's Note:** Thank you to everyone who's left a review for this so far . Each one really means a lot to me. I hope you all enjoy this latest chapter!

* * *

Iona shrugged slightly to Dean's question. "Um… a year ago, maybe," she tried. "It was really weird. I suddenly realised I wasn't like any of my friends – that I'm a freak." She glanced down a moment.

Dean frowned, and then crouched down in front the little girl, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Now you listen to me," he told her. "You're _not_ a freak. Whoever tells you that are liars or don't know what they're talking about, all right?"

Iona looked slightly taken aback by Dean's words, but she nodded slowly. "All right…"

"Good." Dean lightly patted the kid's shoulder, and then slowly straightened up again. "I need to take care of organising everything. If it's all right with you, I might need your help with seeing what some of the others are thinking. Just in case one of them is thinking of something that might be important – but they don't think it would be." _Or in case they're lying,_ he added silently.

"I want to help," Iona answered.

"Great." Dean walked over to where Jake was talking with some people, but slowed his steps so that Iona could keep up without difficulty.

Jake glanced up as Dean and Iona walked over, and nodded slightly to the man, although it was more mocking than really respectful. "What can I do for you?" the doctor asked, tilting his head slightly.

Iona frowned up at Dean, but didn't say anything, and quickly returned her gaze to Jake again. She started biting at a nail.

Dean struggled to keep his calm, knowing that he would just make things worse if he snapped back at Jake. Sooner or later, though, he was going to have to have a word with the other man. If they were going to survive the demons, they really needed to learn to work as a team. And that meant _everyone_ – not just a select few, or even most of them. _What's his problem with me anyway?_ Dean wondered.

Oh, well. It wasn't like Dean was going to work that out on his own. He crossed his arms over his chest, and answered, "We need to talk about any more skilled workers you may have found. At this stage, _anything_ could be of use." He kept his tone cool and firm, not wanting to get into an argument right now.

Jake shrugged. "Well, apart from who I told you about before – we have a couple of psychiatrists. There's a builder and a sculptor, as well as a receptionist. There are also one or two police officers, as well as someone who worked in a crime lab."

"What do people do in crime labs?" Iona asked innocently.

_Can't she read his mind?_ Dean wondered. _Or maybe he's not thinking about what crime lab people do…_ "They work with things like DNA and fingerprints," he explained. "You know… crime scenes." He was trying not to focus on too many details, but it was a little difficult not to. _We really need to work on better control for her…_

Iona met Dean's gaze, and then nodded gravely, although she didn't say anything. She then looked at Jake again.

"We need to start getting people trained in combat," Dean continued. "I'd like someone to organise everyone into groups – and then they can rotate with being trained in self-defence and foraging skills."

"What about you?" Jake asked.

Dean shrugged slightly. "I've been trained in fighting – and handling firearms – since I was four years old. I also know something of foraging and hunting…" His voice trailed off as the smell of meat cooking met his nose. He breathed it in, and then paused, frowning. "How were they able to make a fire?"

"I have no idea," Jake answered, turning away. "You can go sort that out – I'll get on with dividing people into groups."

Once the doctor was gone, Iona looked up at Dean. "He doesn't like you," she commented. "That's easy to see."

"I realise that," Dean replied. "I don't suppose you could see _why_ he doesn't like me?" _That really would be helpful. If we're going to be able to find these people – and stand up to the demons – we really need to be able to work together. And finding my brother _is_ the most important thing right now._

Iona shrugged. "I couldn't see why," she answered. "It's not like I have loads of control over this power." She hesitated a moment, and then asked, "Do I have to train in fighting and self-defence?" She tilted her head slightly to the side, her expression rather serious, but also quite curious.

Dean considered that, and then shook his head. "No," he replied. "You're useful with what you can do anyway. We'd be better off having you somewhere you can be easily protected. If you _want_ to train, you can – but you won't be fighting, or going off on your own."

"All right," Iona said, smiling a little.

Dean couldn't tell if the girl was happy about being able to train, or not having to fight. Maybe a little of both… _I wonder how Abby's doing,_ he thought. _I should find out if she might be one of the kids – like Iona and Abby._ He didn't think it was all that likely, though. Abby's abilities didn't seem to be psychic in the same way as the others Dean knew of – such as Sam, Max, and now Iona.

Something suddenly occurred to Dean, and he narrowed his eyes at Iona.

The girl blinked, staring up at him. "What?"

"Do you have a mark on your inner left thigh?" Dean demanded. "You know, like how Abby described?" He knew that Gordon had said that a demon told him the kids like Sam were supposed to be on the side of the demons. But that demon could just as easily have been lying, speaking merely out of desperation.

Or Gordon could have been lying. He wasn't exactly the most stable of people, after all.

Iona looked into Dean's eyes for a long moment. Then, she looked away, and heaved a great sigh.

Too late, Dean realised that she must have picked up on his thoughts about the demons and his brother.

"I'm sorry…" Iona whispered, refusing to look at Dean. Before he could ask her what she meant, the girl continued, "I don't have a mark… But I'm sure your brother wouldn't be helping the demons."

Dean just about managed to push down the urge to start cursing. Iona was too young to know even half of the swear words he did. But he had to wonder… _She can only read minds, right? So why is she so sure that Sammy wouldn't be helping the demons?_ He didn't mean to let his thoughts sound so accusing. But he was damned if he'd curb his thoughts just to make a kid feel a bit better.

Well, all right – he probably _would_ make more of an effort. But still… It was kind of difficult to word his thoughts so that they were at a PG or G level rather than any higher; especially when it came to his brother.

Iona looked up at Dean, and then away again. "You know, maybe I'm not the only one who has powers here. You should ask some of the others here if they're anything like me or your brother."

_Good point,_ Dean thought. He watched Iona for a moment. "So… Any ideas on who exactly to ask? I can't very well ask _everyone_. There's probably at least fifty people here. If I have to go round them all, I can't very well lead."

"So why don't you ask Jake for help?" Iona suggested. "He doesn't like you – but he'd still follow orders. As long as he thinks they make sense."

"Yeah, I guess… You'd better get something to eat now. Wouldn't want anyone to think that I'm starving you."

"I'm sure they wouldn't think that." Iona glanced towards where Isabelle and some other people had managed to get a fire going and were cooking some of the food Adam and Isabelle had found. Then, she turned back to Dean. "You need to eat something as well."

"I'm gonna talk to Jake," Dean replied. "If you want, you can bring over some food for us."

"Okay!" Iona smiled brightly, and then ran over to the little group.

Dean watched her go with a smile he hardly realised he had. Then, he released a sigh, and turned to head in Jake's direction. _I wonder what you're doing now, Sammy? I hope you're all right…_

* * *

John Winchester took a few steps towards his youngest son, and gave a slight frown, looking Sam slowly up and down.

"You look like hell, Sammy."

Sam couldn't even manage the faintest of smiles. He looked away, feeling sick, dizzy and disorientated. He was sure of one thing, though. "You're dead," he muttered. "You shouldn't even be here. You can't be a ghost – we burned your bones. So that means you've gotta be some kind of trick of the demons."

"I'm here because you called me, son." Sam didn't hear his father move, but he jerked slightly when he felt a hand resting gently on his shoulder.

"You're not him." Sam tried to sound sure of himself, even as he refused to look up at the demon who wore the face of his father. Despite his attempts at being strong, though, he felt tears prick at the back of his eyes. _I'd feel better if I even knew that Dean was still alive…_ He'd always thought he would know if anything ever happened to Dean – but since there'd been no warnings of the demons' invasion, he'd lost faith in any powers he had.

"Your brother's fine," John's voice said softly. "He's in a slightly better situation than you. He's been able to take charge of a group of people who've survived the attack. Not many – but he'll get more."

Sam closed his eyes, and just leaned into his father's embrace, shuddering a little. "What's happening to me?" he whispered.

"It's best you don't know that," John replied. "It'll just cause you more unnecessary pain." He drew back to look into Sam's eyes, his hands resting on his son's shoulders. "You need to fight what's happening – and have faith in your brother. Dean would fight all the hordes of hell to save you."

Sam nodded slowly, beginning to feel slightly calmer. "Am I going to be possessed?" he asked, trying to keep the slight tremble out of his voice.

John shook his head. "It's a lot worse than that, Sammy." Even as he spoke, his form began to fade, and his voice sounded like it was coming from a long way away. "Goodbye, Sammy… I always did love you and your brother."

Sam felt his eyes fill with tears, and he struggled to hold them in. Then, when his father's form had completely disappeared, he lowered his head over the dead woman, and let himself start sobbing brokenheartedly.


End file.
